Sussex to get 'state-of-the-art' £250m cancer centre

A new cancer centre is set to be built in Sussex, the government has announced.

It said £250m would be spent on building a "state-of-the-art" regional hub for treating the disease at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

Dr Sarah Westwell, the hospital's chief of service for cancer, called the announcement a "watershed moment".

She said it would bring the facilities "in line with the world-class care we strive to deliver every day".

More than 60,000 patients will be treated at the new Sussex Cancer Centre each year, according to University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust.

It said the site would offer high-precision radiotherapy, expanded outpatient clinics, a dedicated assessment area, day unit and ward - with sea views on the upper floors.

The quarter-of-a-billion-pound investment will more than triple the hospital's clinical space dedicated to cancer care, the trust added.

Sussex has the second-largest cancer population in the country, it said.

One in two people are now projected to have cancer in their lifetime, the trust continued.

"For patients and families facing a cancer diagnosis, the new centre... will mean faster access to specialist care, better outcomes, and a setting designed around their needs," said Chris Ward, Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven.

The government said it expected the site to open in 2029.

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